Minister for Social Development  
Minister of Youth Affairs

As Minister for Social Development and Youth Affairs I am responsible for a third of Government expenditure, over $22 billion a year.  

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is one of New Zealand's largest government departments  and touches the lives of more than 100,000 families and well over 1 million individuals.  

MSD employs over 9,200 people and has 143 Work and Income offices and Community Links, and 44 Child, Youth and Family sites nationwide.  

I am proud that we live in a country which has a system of supports that is there for people who need it. As Social Development Minister I am spearheading the Government’s vast programme of work to reform the welfare system and better protect New Zealand’s vulnerable children.

The National Party campaigned on welfare reform and the National-led Government is now delivering it.

The Government’s welfare reforms have already shifted the focus of the benefit system towards encouraging and supporting more people into paid work.

When completed we will have an active work based welfare system which focuses on what people can do and not what they can’t. We are also committed to better protecting and nurturing our most vulnerable children.

The Children’s Action Plan, as part of the White Paper for Vulnerable Children, outlines the implementation of more than 30 initiatives involving children, parents, communities, government departments, non-government organisations, volunteers and professionals.

This work began with public consultation on the Green Paper, which resulted in nearly 10,000 public submissions, making it one of the most comprehensive public consultation processes.

The resulting White Paper is bigger than politics; it is bigger than any one individual. It is not only for this generation of New Zealand children, but also for their children and their grandchildren.